


Realization

by GeminiHalo



Series: ABO Steven/Lars [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Connie Being Observant, Crushes, Embarrassed Steven, Feelings Realization, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Magical Room, Mutual Pining, Two and a half year age difference, past relationship, presenting late
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-27 03:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20941592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeminiHalo/pseuds/GeminiHalo
Summary: Steven presents as Omega late and something happens that makes him think about Lars in more than a friendly manner.





	Realization

“Noooo!” Steven groans into his pillow as he wakes up that morning sweaty and feeling off. “This can’t be happening,” he says under his breath, before pushing out of bed. He grabs his phone and makes his way downstairs going straight for the door leading to the privacy of pink’s room. 

Once the door closes he sits down in the chair that he’s formed for himself and turns his attention to his phone. 

“Please, please,” he says out loud as he pulls up Google and types in his question. 

_ What does it feel like when you first become an omega? _

He hits the first none ad answer and scrolls over the list of symptoms. Excessively Hot. Check. Sweaty. Check. Tingling in parts… Check. Overly aroused. It isn’t full-blown yet but he knows it’s coming so. Check.

“Nooo, I can’t be an Omega!” He laments as he scrolls through more symptoms and jumps to different sites with them all saying the same thing. 

Steven had been so sure he was a Beta, like his father and Connie. Connie…he's calling her before he knows what he wants to say. 

"Steven?" Her voice is heavy with sleep and she yawns into the phone before continuing. "Is everything okay?"

"No," Steven says.

"What's going on Steven?" She asks this time sounding more awake and he hears her shifting from under her covers. "Something gem related? Want me to come over?" 

"No Connie, it's not gem related, I...I woke up and God…"

"What?" She asks worry in her voice.

"I'm an Omega Connie, I woke up with all the symptoms and everything." 

"Oh, Steven…" She's silent for a long moment. "It's not going to be that bad," she finally says.

He knows it's not the end of the world but there are so many things that'll be different. He's pacing back and forward now not able to put words together to explain to Connie how awful this is. 

"Steven, where are you, do you need me to call your dad?" She finally asks concerned. 

"No, no I don't…" he realizes that he  _ will  _ need an adult, maybe not his dad but one that can give him suppressants. "Connie, can your mom give me a prescription for suppressant?" 

"Maybe...but I don't think that's a good idea, Steven, you started two years late already, and being half gem you don't know what it could do to you." He wants to yell in frustration but he knows Connie is right.

"You should tell your dad Steven, he might not know about it firsthand, but he can help you get ready for your first heat." She says delicately.

He pulls the phone away from his face and groans. "Okay Connie, you're right, I'll call him,” he says finally.

"Want me to come over?" She asks tentatively. 

"After all of this is done," he does not want her to see him like this. 

"Okay, Steven, good luck and make sure you drink plenty of water during..." she says and he’s embarrassed.

"I will, thank you, Connie," he says and he genuinely means it. 

He says a quick goodbye and the next person on his list is his dad. The impulse call to Connie wasn’t scary but this one feels terrifying.

"Schtu-ball? You're up pretty early, what's up?" Greg sleepily asks.

"Dad…" he starts his mouth feeling dry.

"Steven?" His dad sounds worried now.

"Dad, I presented Omega like thirty minutes ago," he rushes the words out before he can panic. 

"You're an Omega?" 

"Yeah," he says and waits nervously.

"I guess you presented late being half gem and all," Greg says introspectively. "I'll be there soon, don't worry too much about it, they have plenty of books on everything nowadays. I'll get some stuff for you, be there in a jiff."

"Thanks, dad," he says hanging up his phone relieved that his dad isn’t worried about it. He realizes how silly it was to feel scared in the first place, seeing how level-headed his dad usually is. 

He feels hot and tingly but he hasn’t hit that point where he doesn’t have any control. According to all the research he's done it usually takes three to four hours after the first sign. Unless there is an eligible Alpha present of course, then he’d be done for. There isn’t one around though and he doesn’t want to be an Omega that goes all-in on his first heat anyways. 

He walks out of the room and sits on the couch to wait for his dad. He scrolls through some Omega forums half reading about smells and scenting before Garnet enters the room. 

“Hey,” he says as he shoves his phone into his pocket. 

“Steven…” she sits down next to him. “How are you?” 

“I’ve been better,” he admits and sighs. “I guess you know about it?” 

“Yes, Steven,” she smiles kindly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Nah, I mean I feel the same, mostly, but if I need to know anything I can check online since it’s only a human thing.”

“Well, if you do need to talk about it, I’m here,” she says and then Pearl comes in and Amethyst is behind her laughing at some joke. 

Apparently he’s more flushed and sweaty than he realizes when Pearl asks him what’s wrong. He explains his predicament and in ten minutes there’s a worrying stack of books on the coffee table. Pearl is reading some lines in a book from the 1950s on how to deal with your first heat. The advice is sound but that doesn’t stop him from being completely mortified beyond belief. Garnet shoos Pearl off once his dad arrives holding a 24 pack of water and some of his favorite snack cakes. 

“Hey, guys…” Greg's eyebrow arches in question, eyes looking over the over-exaggerated amount of books. “Getting a little reading done I see.” He laughs nervously as he walks fully in handing the pack of water to Garnet when she walks over to take it. 

“Just going over some of the basics,” Garnet muses as she sets the water down on the kitchen counter.

“How are you feeling Steven?” Greg asks as he sits down across from him.

“Too hot or maybe too cold?” It feels like both at the same time if he’s honest. “And I’m realizing I should have probably read more on this before.”

“Yeah, maybe it could have helped a bit, but you’ll be okay, look,” Greg presents a much more up-to-date, much smaller book. “It goes over the basics, should be easy to read, in between the episodes.” He looks over at the books on the coffee table. “And it’s a lot less wordy.”

“Those books are some of the best Greg,” Pearl says from her seat in front of the kitchen counter not looking up from the book she currently has in her hands. 

“You’re right Pearl, but right now he probably isn’t too big on reading all that,” Steven nods in agreement. “So do you know what...what you have to do?”

“Yes, please don’t talk about it,” Steven answers cringing inside. “I think it’ll be safe to just deal with it in that room,” he points to the gem door. 

“Yeah...yeah, it should be safe, you know how to control it now right?” 

“Yep, shouldn’t be a problem,” he answers. There is a sudden rush of heat over his body and it’s not exactly painful but it feels  _ strange _ . He folds over wrapping his arms around his midsection and breathes. 

“Steven?” His dad’s hand is on his back and he realizes some seconds passed by without him noticing. 

“I think I need to get in there,” he mumbles.

“Yeah, okay, can you walk?” Greg asks and Steven nods before getting up and heading for the door. “Garnet, can you grab the water?” 

“Sure.”

It feels like a walk of shame as he enters the room and his family trails behind him. Steven thinks up a small room with a bed and television and sits down. 

“You’ll be fine Steven,” Pearl presses the thick 1950’s book in his hand and hugs him. “Chapter 4 seems really helpful if you can read it.” She says before standing up. 

“You got this Steven,” Amethyst says and Steven smiles before giving her a fist bump. 

“Alright Steven, be careful, make sure to eat and drink,” Greg pats his head and Steven nods.

Garnet gives him a thumbs up and Steven throws his own up then they file out of the room. The door closes and he’s left alone in his created room, he lays back on the bed pleased with how real it feels. He clicks on the television and it’s a rerun of a recollection of a show he watched years before. Steven briefly wonders if he’s subconsciously making up the plot as it goes. It still plays when he falls into a restless sleep but when he wakes up two hours later the screen is off. 

He pushes his clothes off overheated as he feels the start of his first official heat. Steven experimentally moves his hand lower down and he bites his lip when he feels the slick between his legs. 

“Hey.”

He jumps out of shock ripping his hand away from the area between his legs and pulls the sheet up to his chest. Steven looks over at Lars of all people leaning against his wall with a grin on his face. 

“Lars, wh-what are you doing here?” he blurts out his face on fire. 

“Don’t you want me to help you with that?” Lars asks his eyes traveling down then back up to Steven’s eyes. “Looks like you could use some.”

“Uh...but how did-what about Sadie?!” Steven yells.

“Didn’t you know she’s a Beta?” Steven shakes his head. “Well, you at least know Alpha’s don’t date Beta’s right?” Lars asks as he pushes away from the wall and casually begins to walk over. 

“I r-read that somewhere,” Steven answers nervously. “Omega’s don’t date Beta’s either, it’s too hard to get through heats without an Alpha.” He adds remembering what Pearl was reading earlier. 

“That’s right, so I’m here to help get you through this Steven,” Lars says before he sits on the end of Steven’s bed. “That’s what you want, right?” Lars asks seductively and his hand is resting on Steven’s thigh. 

“Oh,” Steven says lamely realizing that this Lars isn’t the REAL Lars. He thinks he must have conjured him up in the last two minutes and he’s not sure how to feel about that. 

On one hand, he should probably get rid of this Lars and replace him with a pornstar or something. But on the other hand, this Lars isn’t really  _ real _ and he’s interested, with a clear sign of arousal in his jeans already. Steven reasons with himself that replacing Lars will be a hassle and it’s easy to agree with that thought when Lars is licking his lips and eyeing him lustfully. He thinks in the back of his mind that maybe if he wasn’t already so turned-on he’d make the change but he can’t right now. 

“Yeah, I want that Lars,” Steven breathes out and Lars smiles in a predatorial way that sets his insides on fire. 

“I’m going to help you through this, baby,” Lars says his voice deep and Steven loses it. 

He pushes the sheet aside and pulls the not real Lars to him kissing him desperately. Steven pulls Lars out of his clothes and then Lars is over him, he’s kissing down him and pressing his tongue against just the right spots and Steven is gone. He sees white and when he comes down the need to be taken doubles in intensity. Lars gives him what he needs without asking and Steven moans unabashedly when he does. 

The hours seem to bleed into each other after that. He doesn’t give himself time to feel guilty about using the image and voice of his friend to get off. He manages to drink enough water and rest some between all the couplings. Steven starts feeling guilty near the end of the third day when his brain slowly gets back into working order and he’s looking at the sleeping form of the Lars he made. He goes for one last round before saying goodbye to the copy, feeling lame when he gets emotional as the fake Lars disappears. 

“Oh god,” Steven groans as he places a hand over his face. He really wishes he’d turned the person into a nameless Alpha now. Because he doesn’t know if Lars is even an Alpha, if Sadie is still dating him or if his heat-addled brain made it up. He eats some of the cakes his dad left and drinks some more water and falls asleep for a while. When he wakes up Steven pulls on his clothes and wills away everything in the room. He decides he’ll leave the real stuff in there for later as he walks carefully through the door. 

“Going to the bathroom,” he calls before anyone can say anything to him.

After using the toilet he takes a long hot shower wishing it could scrub away the shame he feels. It doesn’t, but it does make him clean and he smiles when he sees the towel and clothes Pearl probably left for him on the shelf. He pulls on the new clothes feeling better and steps out of the bathroom to look over at his family.

“Before anyone asks, I’m fine,” he says walking into the kitchen thirsty for something other than water. 

“Do you need to talk about anything?” Pearl asks slowly and Steven bites his lip at the rush of guilt he feels.

“Nope,” he grabs the bottle of grape juice out of the fridge. “I’m good, I’ll read that book you gave me before my next one, I should be fine, right?” He asks before pouring some juice in a glass and gulping it down. 

“Yeah, you should be, do you want me to make an appointment for suppressants soon?” His dad asks from where he’s sleeping on the couch. 

“Please,” Steven says drinking down another glass before putting the juice back in the fridge. “I don’t think I can go through another full heat like that again.” 

It always seemed like the type of thing to say right before you learn that you’ll have to go through that exact thing every single time. Apparently there’s something about his blood that pretty much guarantees that the pills won’t work for him. It isn’t something exclusive to him he finds out with a quick online search but there seems to only be one real solution. He’ll need to find a real Alpha to help him with it because the one he made up in his room didn’t quite hit all the marks from the stories he’s read.

He’s been avoiding Big Donut and Lars for a week now and no one notices until Connie does. They’re sitting on the couch after playing some cards together when she pops the question. 

“Steven?” she starts and already he’s suspicious by the tone in her voice. 

“Yeah Connie?” he says sounding as casual as he can. 

“Did you make someone when you, you know…” 

“Um...yeah,” Steven tries to keep his voice neutral. He’s already got a lie in the chamber for when she asks who, when she throws him for a loop. 

“Was it Lars?” She whispers loudly and Steven's eyes bulge out as he looks around them making sure none of the Gems are in the room. 

“What, w-why would you think that Connie? No, of course not,” he rambles and it’s a dead giveaway. 

“Well, you’ve been avoiding him and every time you see him your face goes kind of red and you get all nervous. Then you run off in a different direction to avoid him.” She states the facts and he’s so busted. 

He sighs, wishing Connie wasn’t so observant sometimes. “Yes, I did. But I didn’t mean to! If I hadn’t been going out of my mind I would’ve changed him.” He laments the guilt that’s been eating away at him flooding his mind. 

“Hey it’s fine Steven, I don’t know how it is first-hand, but I know losing control happens, especially for the first time and having a room where you can create anyone I mean if everyone had that ability it’d probably happen a lot.” She says sounding completely reasonable about this information. 

“But he’s dating, and I don’t even know if he’s an  _ Alpha _ , and I bet he’d be grossed out if he found out I made him.” Steven groans into his hands and Connie places a comforting hand on his back. 

“Don’t feel guilty Steven, you were just fantasizing, plenty of people do it.” She says softly and Steven shakes his head. “You...do you really like him like that?” She finally asks. 

“I don’t think I did before but then I created that Lars and since then I keep thinking about us getting together.” He says sounding desperate to his own ears. “I have a huge dumb crush on someone that might already be taken. There’s no way he’d be interested, Connie.”

“Well, he might be,” Connie says and Steven looks at her incredulously. “What? You do know he hasn’t been dating Sadie for over a year right?”

“Really? I guess I kind of forgot,” he blames it on the fact that he’s been repeating it in his head that Lars is off-limits all week. “When the Lars I made said it I thought I made it up, you know to lessen the guilt,” he laughs. 

“I don’t know if he’s an  _ Alpha _ though,” she muses. “You should just go to Big Donut Steven, I mean the worse that can happen is he’s not and you move on.”

“And if he  _ is _ one?” 

“If he’s interested then you just have to decide if you really want to date him,” she shrugs and smiles at him as if it will be the easiest thing in the world. “Come on, I want to beat you at least once before I head home.” She says dropping the subject altogether as she shuffles up the deck. 

Two days later on a Tuesday Steven is standing in front of Big Donut and watching Lars talk with a customer. Before just looking at him would have bought a smile to his face then he’d walk in to get a donut without a care in the world. But now his heart is racing and his hands are sweaty and the smile Lars has on his face looks devilishly charming. It feels like he’s seeing Lars for the first time, the difference in perspective making everything seem new.

The customer leaves and Lars looks up and waves at him when he catches him looking through the window. Steven waves back and tells himself not to freak out before opening the door and casually walking in. 

“Hey Steven, haven’t seen you in a while, what’s up?” Lars asks leaning cooly on the counter.

“Um...hey…” he begins and then he can’t seem to get any more words out. He smells the air and there’s a scent in it that he’s never noticed before. It’s sweet, earthy, with a hint of spice that perfectly balances out making him think of a delicious treat. 

“Steven?” Lars says his name slowly his face morphing from curious to shocked as he stares at him. 

“S-sorry,” Steven says sheepishly already aware that he’s making this weird. “I...I-did you guys get something new in because something smells amazing.” He tries to say casually but from how Lars is looking at him, he knows he’s failing. 

“No, there isn’t anything new here,” Lars says voice pitched lower before clearing his throat. “D-did you want the usual?” He asks more naturally leaning up from his spot and moving over to the display, grabbing a bag and the tongs before Steven has even answered. 

“Actually,” Steven starts not sure where he wants to go before deciding just to go through with it. He thinks it’ll be like ripping a bandaid off, once he’s done he’ll be able to lick his wounds in private. “Lars, I-I presented as Omega last week,” he starts his tongue feeling overly large as Lars closes the display door slowly without picking up a donut.

“Cool,” he says quickly as he places the tongs back down. “Looking for a little advice from an Alpha?” he asks leaning back onto the counter.

“No...I mean,” Steven’s subconscious is cheering at the fact that Lars is actually an Alpha even though he knows it doesn’t guarantee anything. “Yes, but…” he stops, feeling tongue-tied. 

“But what?” Lars asks carefully after half a minute. 

“I kind of wanted to know if you’d be interested in me, not like as a friend, but more like a boyfriend. I mean I’ve always liked you a lot and now I like  _ like _ you. Which maybe I did subconsciously before but I just realized it and I’ll stop talking so you can say no.” Steven finishes feeling incredibly ridiculous and scared. 

“So you like  _ like  _ me now?” Lars asks grinning and Steven is shocked that he has the audacity to joke before rejecting him. “And for the record, I’m not saying no,” Lars adds reading him like an open book. 

“You’re not?” Steven asks.

“Nope,” Steven is stuck where he’s standing as Lar’s walks around the counter space to stop in front of him. “You want to know a secret Steven?” He asks and Steven nods numb his brain in a momentary stupor. “I’ve had a crush on you for a while.”

“R-really?” Lars nods and Steven realizes suddenly that the scent he’d commented on earlier is coming from him. “When?” 

“A few months after you revived me I knew, but you weren’t an Omega and way too young. I pretty much gave up on us being a thing and I was happy to just be friends,” he admits reflectively. 

“I’m sixteen and a half now,” Steven voices as he looks up at Lars. 

“You are,” Lars smiles. “You’re an Omega too, and you smell really  _ good _ ,” Lars says and Steven notices the deeper shade of red blooming over his already pink cheeks. 

“You do too,” Steven says feeling butterflies. 

“Th-thanks,” Lars says falling out of his flirty confidence with a cough. “So, do you want to go out tonight?” He asks nervously looking away.

“Yes!” Steven breaks out in a smile and pulls Lars into a tight hug before he can stop himself.

Lars hugs back and Steven is glad that the height difference isn’t as significant as it used to be. He presses his face into Lars's shirt and breathes in, his scent is amazing. He loosens his grip not wanting someone to walk in on him breathing in the scent of an Alpha, of  _ Lars _ . He wants to keep doing it but Lars is working and they’re out in the open in the middle of Big Donut and he’s sure they look absurd standing there. 

“Sorry,” he mumbles as he lets go and Lars just smiles down at him. 

“Don’t be,” Lars says and before he can apologize again Lars's fingers move under his chin and his head is tilted slightly back and they’re kissing. His eyes flutter shut and he briefly thinks this is what falling in love feels like. “I like it when you hug me,” Lars says when he leans back and Steven can’t keep the smile off his face. 

“I’ll just keep doing it then,” Steven says before he lets go of Lars. “I guess you have to get back to work.” 

“Until our date,” Lars reminds him and Steven feels the butterflies roar up again. 

“Yeah, until our date,” he repeats giddy from knowing they’re  _ actually _ going on a date tonight.

“I’ll come pick you up after my shift.” 

“Okay, that sounds great,” he starts heading towards the door. “I’ll see you later.” He waves elated as he leaves the shop. 

He’s floating on cloud nine all the way back home.

When Lars comes to pick him up that night he isn’t nervous. When they play a game of Skee Ball and laugh together it feels like everything is  _ right _ with the world. When they go back to Steven’s house and cuddle on his bed to watch an episode of something, he feels  _ safe _ . When he draws Lars into another kiss and they look into each other’s eyes, it’s  _ perfect _ .

There aren’t many guarantees in life, but this; what they have here, feels like it’s one.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> A week later Steven tells Lars about his embarrassing secret of his first heat and Lars teases him, then they laugh about it before cuddling. He then helps Steven through his next heat heroically.
> 
> Every time I see art of the two of them cuddling I heart emoji instantly. I figured as a writer if I didn't create some stories for my OTP I'm doing it wrong lol. Thank you for reading! :)


End file.
